Making life a little calmer

It was a bit frosty one recent morning and my trusted Chevy Tahoe complained to me that the golf cart was resting in the west bay of the garage, leaving the Tahoe out in the cold at about 0 degrees.

It gets a little bit strange when your vehicle has a fit of anthropomorphism and starts to tell you how to deal with your environment. In October I had attempted and failed to get my son Bill or one of the employees to help reorganize the west bay so that the Tahoe could go under cover.

I should have worked on this project earlier, but the bite in the December air really moved Bill and me to action.

All of the vehicles started and were moved to where they will hang out until May.

The Tahoe slid into the west bay and Sue’s Ford Fusion was already in the east bay (closest to the door to the house). The golf cart and the GEM car are parked outdoors.

I had a vinyl building in this area for several years, but it had a bit of a collapse last winter and I didn’t get it corrected during October. There was just never the right day to set it up this year and I’ve experimented with covering vs. not covering for many years. Sometimes I think the efforts to cover cause more problems than just closing off the side curtains and letting the snow fall. Time will tell and so be it. I will give you a full damage report and evaluation in May 2017.

I guess we were not destined to ease into winter this year. It’s like the transition into summer. Lots of folks just jump into the lake in late June or early July, and others ease in step at a time until the blood has chilled down a bit. I have tried both ways, and frankly, it makes no difference which way you get into 55 degree water in June. It has much to do with your current mood and if you’re trying to prove a point. Sometimes I strut around and accuse anyone who doesn’t plunge right in of being a wimp. Another year, I might say anyone over 8.5 decades can go into the lake after July 15 or not at all. However, some old trooper might say. “The last one in doesn’t get the hot toddy.”

I must say that I have had a strong nostalgia attack because of not having a canine buddy to bounce around with in the new snow. Most of my dogs have enjoyed playing in the powder. It is amazing how well some of the short guys get through snow deeper than they are high.

However, it can impact their expeditions. I’m sure deep snow kept Lemon from seeing and avoiding the snowplow wing that hit him on his way home from his last big outing.

I miss having a small dog sleeping on my lap on these chilly evenings, but I must agree with Susan that the freedom to plan outings from the house without having to make arrangements for the dog is welcome. I suspect we have had our last companion animal.

As many of you probably know, I have used the upstairs of my barn for my office since my business moved out of the dining room in 1983. We only lasted five years in the dining room. The barn is heated and cooled and it works quite well.

When I am here alone on a quiet afternoon like today, I hear the other residents (mostly squirrels, chipmunks and mice). They seem to be content to stay within the walls of the structure and we see very little evidence that they are trotting around in our part of the barn.

Grade level on the west end is storage for boats and parts for the business. At grade level on the east side is a garage that houses two vehicles and the Ford Model A. The upper level is   made up of two offices for my business activities and the attic level has a lot of history stashed up there, as we have been working out of here for over 33 years.

We do not have people coming and going at the office. We depend on the telephone and some electronic wonders to communicate with our techs and our customers who are mostly within two hours of travel around Syracuse in all directions. It has been a good plan and happily it will keep my son Bill busy as long as he needs. I do not travel much anymore — I used to drive about 45,000 miles per year — which makes life much calmer.